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Boris prepares for partygate report release

Prime Minister Boris Johnson holds a cabinet meeting in 10 Downing Street. Picture by Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street

Gray’s interim report, critical of leadership failures, had triggered a police investigation under Scotland Yard’s Operation Hillman…reports Asian Lite News

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is on Wednesday preparing for the release of the long-anticipated partygate report into law-breaking parties at Downing Street, compiled by senior civil servant Sue Gray.

Gray’s interim report, critical of leadership failures, had triggered a police investigation under Scotland Yard’s Operation Hillman. That investigation concluded last week with 83 fines being issued for breach of coronavirus lockdown rules within government quarters, including one each for Johnson, wife Carrie and Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

It cleared the decks for the original Sue Gray report to be published in full, which is expected to be first handed over to Downing Street before Johnson addresses Parliament over its findings.

“It’s not just the optics, it’s understandable that people will feel anger because there were instances where people couldn’t attend funerals of close friends, couldn’t visit loved ones,” UK Environment Secretary George Eustice told the BBC, with reference to the breaches.

As well as his appearance in the House of Commons, Boris Johnson is also set to face a tough meeting of the powerful Tory backbench 1922 committee. After an initial uproar over partygate, most of his party MPs have fallen behind the party line against the backdrop of a soaring cost of living crisis and Russia-Ukraine conflict.

However, the issue has been reignited as the BBC’s ‘Panorama’ programme aired footage of Downing Street insiders speaking anonymously of a boozy culture throughout the lockdown.

Three “insiders” told the documentary of chaotic, crowded gatherings at the heart of government in which people sat on others’ laps in complete disregard of the social distancing rules and rooms were left strewn with bottles of alcohol. One of the BBC’s sources said they felt such “parties” were licensed by the UK PM as he was there and did not demand it be shut down.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan is among Opposition Labour leaders calling for an explanation from the Metropolitan Police why the Prime Minister was only fined for a birthday party in June 2020 and not handed a second fine for another party after pictures emerged of him holding up a glass at a farewell drinks party on November 13, 2020. The rules in force at the time banned indoor gatherings of two or more people, except if “reasonably necessary” for work purposes.

Downing Street has said that Johnson would address Parliament “in full” after Gray published her report into the gatherings.

Johnson on Tuesday faced renewed accusations of lying, after photos emerged of him drinking at a Downing Street gathering during lockdown in 2020.

The revelations came as a senior civil servant was expected to publish her long-awaited full report into the “Partygate” scandal, despite allegations that Johnson was trying to have it dropped.

A slew of revelations earlier this year about lockdown-breaking parties caused widespread political and public anger, and put Johnson’s position in jeopardy.

But the heat was taken out of a potential mutiny from his own MPs by the war in Ukraine and his hawkish support for President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The photos published late on Monday by ITV News were taken during a leaving event for Johnson’s communications director Lee Cain on November 13, 2020, days after the government ordered a second Covid lockdown and banned households from mixing.

Johnson can be seen raising a glass and chatting with several people around a table with bottles of wine and food.

Police have investigated the leaving event as part of their probe into “Partygate” and fined one person — but not Johnson.

When he was asked in parliament last December about the gathering, the prime minister insisted there had been no party on that date and that no rules had been broken.

The police did fine Johnson over a surprise birthday party he attended at Downing Street in June 2020, but he has not been fined for any other event.

In total, they issued more than 100 fines related to multiple gatherings in an around the prime minister’s residence and place of work.

The BBC’s Panorama programme on Tuesday quoted people who attended Cain’s leaving party as saying it developed into “about 30 people, if not more, in a room. Everyone was stood shoulder to shoulder, some people (sitting) on each other’s laps.”

The event was on a Friday, when the prime minister’s press office organised regular “WTF” (“Wine-Time Friday”) drinks starting at four o’clock in the afternoon, some of the people who attended told the BBC.

A Downing Street security guard was mocked when he tried to stop a party in full flow, they said.

“People made fun of him because he was so worked up that this party was happening and it shouldn’t be happening.”

The deputy leader of the main opposition Labour party, Angela Rayner, said it was “astonishing” that Johnson was not fined for the November gathering.

She told ITV News that it looked “pretty clear” the gathering had been a party, not a work event. She said it was “pretty shocking” Johnson had not been fined for it.

“He’s tried to lie to the British public and he’s tried to lie to parliament,” Rayner said.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps sought to defend Johnson on Tuesday, saying the new pictures showed the prime minister was “clearly not” partying.

“It looks to me he was asked to go and thank a member of staff who was leaving, raises a glass to them and I imagine comes in and out pretty quick, which is presumably why the police have not issued a fixed-penalty notice (fine) to the prime minister,” Shapps told BBC radio.

In a separate development, the Times newspaper reported on Tuesday that Johnson had put pressure on civil servant Sue Gray to drop her much-anticipated report on “Partygate”.

Sky News quoted sources as saying Johnson had questioned what more would be left to say in Gray’s report after the police concluded their work.

ALSO READ-MELTDOWN AT NO10

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MELTDOWN AT NO10

Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police has rejected Mayor Sadiq Khan’s calls for transparency over the inquiry into lockdown parties at Downing Street…reports Asian Lite News

Tonight’s Panorama at 7 pm will reveal the scenes behind that famous black door at No10 Downing Street.  Insiders who attended events at Downing Street during lockdown have told the BBC how staff crowded together, sat on each other’s laps and how party debris was left out overnight. For the first time, insiders who were at some of the events have told BBC Panorama in detail what they saw.

Speaking anonymously, three insiders have opened up about a world behind No 10’s famous front door where the lockdown rules the country was living by were routinely ignored, socialising was regular, with, they felt, the prime minister’s implicit permission, BBC reported.

One staffer describes director of communications Lee Cain’s leaving do, the event on 13 November 2020, where the prime minister has been pictured raising a glass, but for which he has not been fined. Others have been judged to have broken the law for being there and received penalties.

Mr Johnson attended and made a speech to thank Mr Cain, but as the party developed “there were about 30 people, if not more, in a room. Everyone was stood shoulder to shoulder, some people on each other’s laps…one or two people.”

At the party on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral on 16 April 2021, they portray a “lively event… a general party with people dancing around”. The gathering becoming so loud that security guards in the building told them to leave the building and go into the No 10 grounds.

“So everyone grabbed all the drinks, the food, everything, and went into the garden,” one source told BBC. “We all sat around the tables drinking. People stayed the night there.”

They now concede what went on was “unforgivable”.

The insiders admit that events were routine. “They were every week,” one says. “The event invites for Friday press office drinks were just nailed into the diary.” The invitation was known as “WTF” – meaning “Wine-Time Friday” and a reference to a less polite acronym.

The drinks were often scheduled in No 10 for 4pm. Sources say Friday drinks had been a tradition in Whitehall for some time. But drinking wasn’t limited to Fridays. One former official describes turning up at work in No 10 often to find “A mess! There were bottles, empties, rubbish – in the bin, but overflowing – or indeed sometimes left on the table.”

Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police has rejected Mayor Sadiq Khan’s calls for transparency over the inquiry into lockdown parties at Downing Street.

Sadiq Khan said there were mounting questions about the integrity of the investigation and that they would damage public trust.

The Met remained defiant despite the publication of photographs showing the prime minister giving a toast at a leaving event during the November 2020 lockdown, when social gatherings were banned. Johnson was pictured in front of a table with several bottles of alcohol, including wine and gin.

A Met spokesman confirmed to The Times that the force did not plan to expand on the statement it issued on Friday after the conclusion of Operation Hillman.

Its leadership has refused to say why Johnson escaped a fine even though others were given fixed-penalty notices for attending a leaving party for Lee Cain, the outgoing director of communications, on November 13, 2020.

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Boris pictured drinking at party during lockdown

The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson attends the UK Food and Drink Street Market outside No 10 Downing Street. Picture by Tim Hammond / No 10 Downing Street

The photos, published by ITV News, show Johnson proposing a toast with a group of at least nine people next to a table with several bottles of alcohol and party food…reports Asian Lite News

Four photographs of Prime Minister Boris Johnson drinking at a Downing Street gathering when the UK was under lockdown have emerged just as his government braces for the release of a report into the so-called Partygate scandal.

The photos, published by ITV News, show Johnson proposing a toast with a group of at least nine people next to a table with several bottles of alcohol and party food. The pictures were taken at an event for Johnson’s former communications chief Lee Cain on Nov. 13, 2020, ITV said.  

While Johnson wasn’t fined for this particular event, it adds to a long-running scandal that’s overshadowed his administration for months and almost ended his political career. Civil servant Sue Gray, who led an internal probe into the events, is due to hand her full findings to Johnson for publication this week.

London’s Metropolitan Police closed its criminal investigation into the saga last week, fining Johnson and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak for just one out of at least eight illegal events. The police issued 126 fines to 83 people in total.

“The Cabinet Office and the Met Police have had access to all information relevant to their investigations, including photographs,” 10 Downing Street said in a statement. “The Met have concluded their investigation and Sue Gray will publish her report in the coming days, at which point the Prime Minister will address Parliament in full.”

The photos appear to undermine some of Johnson’s previous statements about the partygate saga. In December, Johnson said in the House of Commons that “all guidance was followed completely in No 10.” When asked specifically about the November leaving do, he said “whatever happened the guidance… and the rules were followed at all times.”

Making deliberately misleading statements to Parliament is a breach of the ministerial code and considered a cause for resignation. Johnson faces a separate parliamentary investigation into whether he has lied about the law-breaking scandal and that inquiry will begin once the Gray findings are published.

The major political question is whether the emergence of the photos will spark a fresh wave of Tory MPs calling for Johnson to step down. Four Conservative MPs, speaking on condition of anonymity, predicted Johnson would be okay. Two others said the photos will create problems for the prime minister.

Steve Baker, who called on Johnson to resign in April, tweeted an emotive advert run by the National Health Service during the pandemic, which showed a patient receiving ventilation with the words: “Look her in the eyes and tell her you never bend the rules.”

“Boris Johnson said repeatedly that he knew nothing about law-breaking – there’s no doubt now, he lied,” said Angela Rayner, deputy leader for the opposition Labour party.

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Anger as Boris escapes Partygate with 1 fine

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Jonathon Gullis MP during a tour of Churchill China Factory in Stoke-on-Trent. Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street

While the force does not reveal the identity of those issued with fines, Downing Street has previously confirmed that Boris Johnson, his wife Carrie and Chancellor Rishi Sunak were among those fined for a birthday party in the Cabinet Room for the British Prime Minister in June 2020..reports Asian Lite News

Scotland Yard said on Thursday that the police investigation into alleged breaches of COVID-19 lockdown regulations at the UK government offices in Downing Street and Whitehall under Operation Hillman has been completed.

The Metropolitan Police said the total number of referrals for fixed penalty notices (FPNs), or fines, in the so-called partygate scandal, stands at 126 and they relate to events between May 2020 and April 2021.

While the force does not reveal the identity of those issued with fines, Downing Street has previously confirmed that Boris Johnson, his wife Carrie and Chancellor Rishi Sunak were among those fined for a birthday party in the Cabinet Room for the British Prime Minister in June 2020.

“When COVID regulations were introduced, the Met was clear that whilst we would not routinely investigate breaches of regulations retrospectively, there may be occasions when it would be appropriate to do so,” said Helen Ball, Acting Deputy Commissioner for the Met Police.

“The information that we received with regard to the alleged breaches in Downing Street and Whitehall was sufficient to reach our criteria to begin such an investigation. Our investigation was thorough and impartial and was completed as quickly as we could, given the amount of information that needed to be reviewed and the importance of ensuring that we had strong evidence for each FPN referral. This investigation is now complete,” she said.

The criteria used by the force to consider such a “retrospective investigation” was that: there was evidence that those involved knew or ought to have known that what they were doing was an offence; where not investigating would significantly undermine the legitimacy of the law; and where there was little ambiguity around the absence of any reasonable defence.

“We will not be releasing or confirming the identity of anyone involved in this investigation or providing further details of our findings, in line with the approach we’ve taken throughout the pandemic,” the Met Police said.

The breakdown of those sanctioned was revealed as 53 men and 73 women, with some receiving more than one fines – which are set on a gradation scale, starting at GBP 100 and rising to GBP 300.

Such fines or fixed penalty notices are a sanction for breaking the law and mean a fine needs to be paid within 28 days unless contested. If someone chooses to contest the fine, the police will then review the case and decide whether to withdraw the fine or take the matter to court. The amount of the fine gets halved if paid early without a legal challenge, as done by Johnson and Sunak.

“We took great care to ensure that for each referral we had the necessary evidence to prosecute the FPN at court, were it not paid,” the Met said

The force said it deployed a team of 12 detectives working through 345 documents, including emails, door logs, diary entries and witness statements, 510 photographs and CCTV images and 204 questionnaires as part of a careful and thorough enquiry.

Each line of enquiry looked at the date, the circumstances behind each event, and the actions of the individual, benchmarked against the legislation at that time, to establish whether their behaviour met the criminal threshold for an FPN referral to be made.

There were a string of gatherings under the police scanner to determine whether there was a breach of the law, which at the time imposed a strict ban on social gatherings with anyone outside your own household to control the spread of coronavirus.

The conclusion of the police investigation clears the way for top civil servant Sue Gray’s report into the partygate scandal, which posed a major challenge to Johnson’s leadership earlier this year, to be published in full.

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Boris Seat in Danger Zone

The survey of 10,000 respondents carried out by multilevel regression and post-stratification (MRP) in April also looked into the opposition Labour Party’s prospects in the election. It found that it would emerge as the single largest party, but fall short of a majority by 18 seats, reports Ashis Ray

An opinion poll in Britain — amid a grim economic situation and a spiralling tension in Northern Ireland — says Prime Minister Boris Johnson will lose his House of Commons seat in the next general election.

Johnson is an MP from the west London constituency of Uxbridge and Ruislip.

The survey of 10,000 respondents carried out by multilevel regression and post-stratification (MRP) in April also looked into the opposition Labour Party’s prospects in the election. It found that it would emerge as the single largest party, but fall short of a majority by 18 seats.

On the other hand, if Labour Party undertakes seat adjustments with Liberal Democrats and the Green Party, the combination would win a comfortable majority. The figure of 326 is the magic mark for a party or alliance in a chamber of 650 lawmakers.

Correspondingly, if the hard-line pro-Brexit Reform Party stands down in seats where Johnson’s Conservative Party is vulnerable, this could further dent Labour’s prospects.

A spokesperson for ‘Best for Britain’, an internationalist organisation, said: “Once again, Best for Britain’s seat level analysis shows the safest route to victory in defeating this (Johnson’s) corrupt government is for the opposition parties to work together during election time.”

If Labour Party falls short, it could be dependent on the separatist Scottish National Party, which could demand independence for Scotland or at least another tricky referendum as a condition for its support.

Analysis for ‘Best for Britain’ by Focaldata indicated that 54 per cent of Labour supporters and 56 per cent of Liberal Democrats supporters want their respective leaders to work more closely with the Greens.

However, after its showing in this month’s countrywide local elections, Labour Party will hope its chances will progressively improve as Johnson and the Conservatives plummet further in public esteem.

Appearing before a House of Commons Select Committee, the Governor of the Bank of England, Britain’s central bank, Andrew Bailey warned of “apocalyptic” food prices. He of course blamed it on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Figures due out on Wednesday are expected to reveal that the annual inflation rate has climbed above 9 per cent and it going beyond 10 per cent when the energy price cap is lifted even more in the autumn.

“Another factor that we’re dealing with at the moment is a further leg of Covid-19, which is affecting China. We have seen a series of supply shocks coming one after another and that’s unprecedented.”

In such circumstances for Johnson to contemplate a unilateral scrapping of parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol with the European Union (EU) is considered in political circles to be ill-conceived, as an introduction of tariffs by the EU by way of retaliation, could have a devastating inflationary impact.

In refusing to agree to tax-free trade with the EU and opting for a customs border between mainland Britain and Northern Ireland in the Irish Sea, the Prime Minister has predictably created an economic and political crisis in Catholic and Protestant conflict-ridden Northern Ireland.

So much so that the United States (with a significant Irish American population, including President Joe Biden, as a powerful pressure group), which stands as guarantor of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which ushered relative peace to the region after nearly 75 years of unrest or violence, has been compelled to intervene.

However, Rishi Sunak, the Indian-origin Chancellor of the exchequer, is reported to be working on fiscal measures to ease the cost of living crisis, having refused to incorporate these in his budget statement in March.

The steps could include relief for pensioners and benefits claimants and cutting duties on imported food.

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THE FUEL SWINDLERS

RAC: Unfortunately, drivers with diesel vehicles need to brace themselves for yet more pain at the pumps. Had Mr Sunak reduced VAT to 15% as we call on him to do instead of cutting duty by 5p, drivers of diesel vehicles would be around 2p a litre better off, or £1 for every full tank. As it is, drivers are still paying 27p VAT on petrol and 29p on diesel, which is just the same as before the Spring Statement

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey has called on Boris Johnson to haul petrol firm bosses into Downing Street, after research by the RAC found they have failed to pass on nearly half of the fuel duty cut to consumers.

The Liberal Democrats are also calling for an emergency VAT cut that would save the average family £600 a year.

“This Conservative government is sitting on its hands and allowing petrol firms to rake in eye-watering profits at the expense of hard-pressed families,” said Davey. “This government’s failure to tackle soaring prices of petrol and diesel is hitting our rural communities hardest. They need help now, instead we have a government in chaos that is raising taxes again and again. It’s high time Boris Johnson hauled petrol retailers into Downing Street to grill them on why the fuel duty cut hasn’t been passed on. Ministers need to act now to tackle this petrol profiteering and slash taxes to put money back into people’s pockets”.

Less than two months after Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a 5p a litre cut on the average price of fuel – diesel prices have reached a record high price of 180.29p a litre. The previous high of 179.90p was recorded on March 23rd 2022 – the day of the Spring Statement from Sunak.

In recent weeks, the UK government has tried to move away from its reliance on importing Russian oil, following President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Worryingly for drivers of petrol cars, the price per litre is fast approaching the record levels of 167.3p per litre set on March 22nd.

 “Sadly, despite the Chancellor’s 5p a litre duty cut the average price of a litre of diesel has hit a new record high at 180.29p,” said RAC fuel spokesperson Simon Williams. “Efforts to move away from importing Russian diesel have led to a tightening of supply and pushed up the price retailers pay for diesel. While the wholesale price has eased in the last few days this is likely to be temporary, especially if the EU agrees to ban imports of Russian oil.

 “Unfortunately, drivers with diesel vehicles need to brace themselves for yet more pain at the pumps. Had Mr Sunak reduced VAT to 15% as we call on him to do instead of cutting duty by 5p, drivers of diesel vehicles would be around 2p a litre better off, or £1 for every full tank. As it is, drivers are still paying 27p VAT on petrol and 29p on diesel, which is just the same as before the Spring Statement.

 “The average price of petrol is also on the rise having gone up nearly 3p a litre since the start of the month to 166.65p which means it’s less than a penny away from the all-time high of 167.30p set on 22 March.”

Can’t Pay Bills

Analysis of Google search data reveals that online searches for “Can’t pay bills” exploded 1,049% in the United Kingdom on 10th May 2022, after increases in the cost of living.

Analysis by Boiler Central reveals that online interest in “Can’t pay bills” skyrocketed to more than ten times the average volume in one day as the cost of living rises.

 “The cost of living has skyrocketed this year, with inflation being at a 30 year high at 7%,” said a spokesperson from Boiler Central commented on the findings. “This has led to the cost of everything increasing, such as food and fuel, but the highest rise has been seen in household bills, which have gone up by nearly £700 on average. One crucial reason for bills is due to energy companies seeing wholesale prices increasing around the world, and these increased costs are being passed on to their customers.”

These findings offer a fascinating insight into the reaction to the rising cost of living and it will be interesting to see if it continues into the Summer. It will also be interesting to see how the government reacts and if they will implement grants or schemes to help those struggling to pay their bills.”

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Boris orders to cut 91,000 civil service jobs

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Jonathon Gullis MP during a tour of Churchill China Factory in Stoke-on-Trent. Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street

PM used a “cost of living” cabinet meeting in the Midlands on Wednesday to order his top team to redouble their efforts to ease the financial pressure on struggling families…reports Asian Lite News

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has ordered ministers to slash 91,000 civil service jobs to free up billions for tax cuts, the Daily Mail reported yesterday.

PM Johnson used a “cost of living” cabinet meeting in the Midlands on Wednesday to order his top team to redouble their efforts to ease the financial pressure on struggling families, it said.

They were given one month to come up with plans to cut the size of the civil service by almost a fifth of the current total, which would save about 3.5 billion pounds ($4.27 billion) a year, the newspaper said.

“Every pound the Government pre-empts from the taxpayer is money they can spend on their own priorities, on their own lives,” the report quoted Johnson as saying. The prime minister also remains convinced of the need for more officials to get back into the workplace, the newspaper said.

“We need to get back into the habit of getting into the office, getting into the workplace,” he told the Daily Mail. “There will be lots of people who disagree with me, but I believe people are more productive, more energetic, more full of ideas, when they are surrounded by other people.”

Dave Penman, General Secretary of the FDA, a union for public service managers and professionals, said in a tweet, “Unless they’ve got a serious plan, it’s either another headline-grabbing stunt or a reckless slash-and-burn to public services without a thought or care about the consequences.”

PM Boris Johnson’s order comes after he told the parliament on Tuesday he and Chancellor Rishi Sunak will have more to say in the coming days on helping voters with the current cost of living crisis.

Britain’s GDP shrinks, rising cost-of-living crisis bites

Britain’s gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 0.1 per cent in March after registering no growth in February, the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

“Services fell by 0.2 per cent in March and was the main contributor to the month’s fall in GDP, reflecting a large decrease in the wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles industry,” said ONS in a statement.

Production also fell in March by 0.2 per cent, while construction grew by 1.7 per cent.

Meanwhile, the country’s GDP grew by 0.8 per cent in the first quarter of this year compared with the previous three months, and is now 0.7 per cent above its pre-pandemic (last quarter of 2019) level.

“Growing the economy is one of the best ways to help with the cost of living and that’s why I’m pleased today’s figures show the UK economy is continuing to grow,” Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said in a tweet late Thursday.

“The economy is now bigger than it was before Covid hit, and growing faster than the US, Germany, France and Italy,” he wrote.

But economists remain cautious. March’s GDP figures show that economic growth has slowed down and people had begun to cut spending even before the large energy cap rise in April.

The country’s 30-year-high 7 per cent March inflation rate is likely to keep rising this year.

The Bank of England (BoE) projected inflation to rise further to 9 percent in the second quarter due to the energy price cap rise in April, and then peak at “slightly over 10 per cent” in the last quarter as the energy price cap is likely to be increased again in October.

Economy grapples with inflation

Britain is entering a summer of discontent. It remains the world’s fifth-largest economy in terms of GDP. However, its vital signs are causing increasing concern as an escalating cost-of-living crisis takes its toll on consumers.

Last week, the Bank of England warned that the economy would fall into recession this year. Despite predicting a sharp fall in household incomes, it raised its main interest rate to one per cent, the highest level in 13 years. That saw the pound, fall by more than two per cent, hitting a two-year low. When announcing the news, the central bank’s governor, Andrew Bailey, said he expected a “very sharp slowdown.”

The public is increasingly pessimistic. Recent consumer sentiment surveys from research groups GfK and Refinitiv/IPSOS found that British households were more downbeat about their personal finances than in any other major economy in Europe. The GfK survey found that the British public’s confidence in their personal finances was now at its lowest level since 1985.

Pic credits IANS

At the core of the problem is soaring inflation. The Bank of England expects it to hit 10 per cent by the end of 2022, driven by a combination of factors, including soaring energy prices and post-pandemic supply chain disruptions. Inflation is now a major problem across Europe and much of the world, but some experts have said that the energy price cap in Britain — a regulation that sets the maximum amount energy suppliers can charge over certain periods — means some cost increases are still to come for consumers.

“The UK probably has more inflationary pain to come than most other countries because the impact of the post-Russian invasion is yet to filter through to consumer prices,” Andrew Goodwin, chief U.K. economist with Oxford Economics, told DW. “As the cost-of-living squeeze continues to intensify, we expect to see the consumer sector fall into recession.”

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Boris signs deal pledging to defend Sweden  

Andersson said Russia would increase its “military presence in this region if Sweden and/or Finland sends in an application”…reports Asian Lite News

Britain has pledged to defend Sweden if the country came under attack, with Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and Magdalena Andersson signing a security assurance deal outside Stockholm.

The accord was signed on Wednesday as Sweden and Finland are pondering whether to join NATO following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

Andersson said Russia would increase its “military presence in this region if Sweden and/or Finland sends in an application”.

Should they apply, there will be an interim period lasting from when an application has been handed in until all 30 NATO members’ parliaments have ratified it.

Johnson is later expected to make a similar defence commitment to Finland, where he will meet President Sauli Niinisto.

The agreement will “fortify Northern Europe’s defences, in the face of renewed threats”, Johnson said in a statement, adding it “is a symbol of the everlasting assurance between our nations”.

“These are not a short-term stop-gap, but a long-term commitment to bolster military ties and global stability, and fortify Europe’s defences for generations to come,” Johnson said in the statement.

Finland shares a 1,340km (830-mile) land border with Russia.

“And whether it’s in the event of a disaster or a military attack, what we’re saying today is that upon request from the other party, we would come to the other parties’ assistance,” Johnson told a joint news conference. He said the war in Ukraine is Russian President Vladimir “Putin’s bloodthirsty campaign against a sovereign nation”.

Andersson said: “Putin thought he could cause division, but he has achieved the opposite. We stand here today more united than ever.”

Johnson met Andersson in Harpsund, the country retreat of Swedish prime ministers, which is located about 90km (55 miles) southwest of Stockholm.

Johnson, who said Putin was “a 21st-century tyrant”, also offered during his one-day visit to increase the deployments of British troops and military assets to the region.

https://twitter.com/SwedishPM/status/1524385184942022659

The UK is already present in the Baltic Sea areas with the Joint Expeditionary Force, which consists of 10 Northern European nations: Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Norway along with the UK.

In 2017, Sweden and Finland joined the British-led military rapid reaction force, which is designed to be more flexible and respond quicker than the larger NATO alliance.

It uses NATO standards and doctrine, so it can operate in conjunction with NATO, the UN or other multinational coalitions. Fully operational since 2018, the forces have held a number of exercises independently and in cooperation with NATO.

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Boris pledges measures to support economy

Johnson highlighted steps the government was already taking to help households with rising bills and said he and chancellor Rishi Sunak would be “saying more about this in the days to come”…reports Asian Lite News

Boris Johnson on Tuesday unveiled plans for legislation to support UK economic growth and reduce regional inequalities, but Labour accused the prime minister of failing to tackle the growing cost of living crisis.

Johnson highlighted steps the government was already taking to help households with rising bills and said he and chancellor Rishi Sunak would be “saying more about this in the days to come”.

But government officials subsequently clarified ministers were not about to hold an emergency Budget of the kind Labour has demanded to deal with the cost of living crunch.

The government unveiled its legislative programme for the coming year in a Queen’s Speech delivered by Prince Charles, heir to the throne. The Queen decided against attending the state opening of parliament for the first time since 1963 because of what Buckingham Palace said were “episodic mobility problems”.

The Queen’s Speech included 38 bills for the 2022-23 parliamentary session, as Johnson also highlighted how the government had already assembled a £22bn package of support for households to address the rising cost of living.

But he warned the government could not fully shield Britons from the impact of soaring inflation, saying “no country is immune” from huge disruptions to the global economy caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Bank of England last week warned the UK economy would slide into recession later this year as higher energy prices push inflation above 10 per cent.

Johnson stressed the need for reforms to “turbo-charge the economy”, and the importance of repairing the public finances after the Covid-19 pandemic, as he told MPs the government “cannot simply spend our way out of the country’s problems,” the Financial Times reported.

But Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said Britain needed a “government of the moment” instead of the current Conservative administration.

He added the Queen’s Speech was “bereft of ideas or purpose, without a guiding principle, or a road map for delivery”, and warned that the country was staring down the barrel of a “stagflation crisis”.

Johnson was keen to demonstrate that, after two years spent dealing with the coronavirus crisis, he had not forgotten about his 2019 election pledge to “level up” left-behind areas by reducing regional inequalities.

A levelling-up and regeneration bill will aim to expand devolution in England through the creation of more directly elected mayors, provide some modest planning reforms to support housebuilding, and give local councils additional powers to bring empty commercial premises back into use.

Among other flagship measures was a financial services bill aimed at cutting red tape in the City of London, supporting the safe adoption of cryptocurrencies and protecting consumers from scams.

The government also signalled that it was prepared to unilaterally overhaul Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit trading arrangements should talks with the EU about potential changes fail to yield acceptable results for UK ministers.

An energy security bill will help accelerate the UK’s shift towards its net zero emissions goal by 2050, partly through funding mechanisms for hydrogen-based power and carbon and capture storage technology.

Ministers will push forward with a bill designed to modernise the business rates system after complaints from companies that the property-based tax is too expensive.

But reforms to improve auditing and corporate governance and put a new technology regulator on a statutory footing were announced only as “draft” bills, which means they will not become law until the 2023-24 parliamentary session at the earliest.

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Boris loses London strongholds

Johnson’s party was ousted in Wandsworth, a low-tax Conservative stronghold since 1978, part of a trend in London where voters used the elections to express anger over a cost-of-living crisis and fines imposed on the prime minister for breaking his own Covid-19 lockdown rules…reports Asian Lite News

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party lost control of traditional strongholds in London and suffered losses elsewhere in local elections, early results showed on Friday, as voters punished his government over a series of scandals.

Johnson’s party was ousted in Wandsworth, a low-tax Conservative stronghold since 1978, part of a trend in the British capital where voters used the elections to express anger over a cost-of-living crisis and fines imposed on the prime minister for breaking his own COVID-19 lockdown rules.

For the first time, the opposition Labour Party won the council of Westminster, a district where most government institutions are located. The Conservatives also lost control of the borough of Barnet, which has been held by the party in all but two elections since 1964.

“Fantastic result, absolutely fantastic. Believe you me, this is a big turning point for us from the depths of 2019 general election,” Labour leader Keir Starmer told party supporters in London.

The overall tally due later on Friday will offer the most important snapshot of public opinion since Johnson won the Conservative Party’s biggest majority in more than 30 years in the 2019 national note.

The early results suggest while the Conservatives suffered in parts of its traditional southern heartlands, support for the party held up in areas of central and northern England that backed leaving the European Union in 2016.

The ballot is an electoral test for Johnson since he became the first British leader in living memory to have broken the law while in office. He was fined last month for attending a birthday gathering in his office in 2020, breaking social distancing rules then in place to curb COVID’s spread. 

The loss of key councils in London, where the Conservatives were almost wiped out, will increase pressure on Johnson, who has been fighting for his political survival for months and faces the possibility of more police fines over his attendance at other lockdown-breaking gatherings.

The elections held on Thursday will decide almost 7,000 council seats, including all those in London, Scotland and Wales, and a third of the seats in most of the rest of England.

Johnson upended conventional British politics in the 2019 general election by winning and then promising to improve living standards in former industrial areas in central and northern England.

The loss of Wandsworth, Barnet and Westminster symbolises the way that Johnson, who won two terms as mayor of London, has lost his appeal in the capital. His support for Brexit has cost him support in London, where a majority of voters supported staying in the EU.

Outside the capital, the Conservatives lost overall control of councils in Southampton, Worcester and West Oxfordshire.

But the party has not done as badly as some polls had predicted. One poll in the run-up to the elections said the Conservatives could lose about 800 council seats.

John Curtice, a professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde, said early trends suggested the Conservatives were on course to lose about 250 seats. He said the results suggested Labour may not emerge as the largest party at the next election.

Oliver Dowden, the chairman of the Conservatives, said the party “had some difficult results”, but that Labour was not on course to win the next general election.

However, some local Conservative council leaders called on Johnson to resign after the party’s poor performance, which they blamed on him being fined and the cost-of-living crisis.

John Mallinson, Conservative leader of Carlisle city council, told the BBC that had found it “difficult to drag the debate back to local issues”.

“I just don’t feel people any longer have the confidence that the prime minister can be relied upon to tell the truth,” he said.

Simon Bosher, the most senior Conservative in Portsmouth, said the party’s leadership in Westminster needed to “take a good, long hard look in the mirror” to find out why they had lost seats.

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